Some might say that Gentleman’s Dub Club has been on a mission since their earliest beginnings 15 years ago at Leeds University; through constant touring, and a steady release of recordings, the band has become one of the most popular and best-known UK-based reggae groups in the world. However, it is only now that GDC is officially ON A MISSION, which is the title of their 7th full-length studio album, out June 9 via Easy Star Records. After a very successful collaboration with The Nextmen on the Pound for Pound album, GDC brought in The Nextmen's Bradford Ellis (a.k.a. Brad Baloo) to produce this one. The album also features guest appearances by Hollie Cook, Gardna, Josh Waters Rudge (of The Skints), Eva Lazarus, and Sara Lugo. Stream or purchase it here.
“Over the years we have honed the writing process to the point where we’re pretty confident in our ability to come up with ideas in the studio that could eventually become finished album tracks,” says bassist Toby Davies. “Getting Brad Baloo on board kind of supercharged this process, as it’s what he does day in, day out. Most of the tracks began as instrumentals, with our keys man Luke Allwood often kicking things off with a fruity chord progression; meantime, Brad would build the drums and have them knocking hard in just a couple of minutes. I would work on the low end, aiming for our signature chugging basslines, and Johnny would riff ideas for lyrics and melodies over the top. We’d then all focus on particular phrases or hooks that he threw out and decide pretty quickly whether they were working or not. So, within an hour we would usually have something resembling a song!”
These songs from ON A MISSION have already been making waves at radio in the UK, with plenty of support from David Rodigan at BBC 1Xtra (who has played every single and is having the band in for an interview to air on his show on June 12), BBC 6 Music (Craig Charles, Don Letts, and Steve Lamacq), BBC Wales, Gadio, Jazz FM, Forest FM, JFS, and many others. The band is also due to do a live acoustic session and interview with Robert Elms on BBC London on June 11.
GDC also has a busy summer planned for festival season with appearances lined up at Beautiful Days, Lindisfarne Festival, Boardmasters, Good Vibrations Society, and the Cambridge Folk Festival. In the fall, the band will headline more shows including in London, Sheffield, Newcastle, Falmouth, Milton Keynes, Brighton, Southampton, Bristol, Leicester, and more.
The album’s early singles – “Run for Cover,” “Sugar Coated Lies,” and “High Hopes” (featuring Eva Lazarus) – all were instant smashes when debuted live earlier this spring during a co-headlining tour with The Skints throughout England. The latest two – “Play My Games” (featuring Hollie Cook) and “Gone” – will both surely become singalongs in the live setting as well. The craftsmanship of Brad Baloo, working closely with the Gentlemen, shines through on these, and on the entire record, bringing a new level of consistency, invention, and catchiness to the GDC catalog.
Tour Dates:
July 08 @ Rochester Castle – Rochester, UK
July 14 – 15 @ The Godney Gathering – Godney, UK
July 27 – 30 @ Cambride Folk Festival – Cambridge, UK
August 04 – 06 @ Good Vibrations Society – Nutley, UK
August 09 – 13 @ Boardmasters – Newquay, UK
August 18 – 20 @ Beautiful Days Festival – Tiverton, UK
August 31 – September 03 @ Lindisfarne Festival – Blyth UK
November 02 @ Newcastle Wylam Brewery – Newcastle-upon-tyne, UK
November 03 @ Sheffield Corporation – Sheffield, UK
November 04 @ Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion – Bexhil On Sea, UK
November 09 @ Milton Keynes MK 11 – Milton Keynes, UK
November 10 @ Falmouth Princess Pavilion – Falmouth, UK
November 11 @ Brighton CHALK – Brighton, UK
November 15 @ London HERA at Outernet – London, UK
November 16 @ Southampton Engine Room – Southampton, UK
November 17 @ Forest Row Hop Yard – Forest Row, UK
November 18 @ Bristol O2 Academy – Bristol, UK
November 29 @ Leicester O2 Academy – Leicester, UK
November 30 @ Liverpool Camp and Furnance – Liverpool, UK
December 01 @ Lancaster Kanteena – Lancaster, UK
December 02 @ Hull The Welly – Hull, UK
